Broadway Show Ticket Sales Analysis w/e 7/13/2014

Posted on July 16, 2014

In the week ending July 13, 2014, Wicked was the second highest grossing show on Broadway, but it also decreased by the highest amount from the week before. Meanwhile, The Cripple of Inishmaan and Of Mice and Men saw their sales pick up as they near closing.

This week’s notable movements on Broadway are:

The Biggest Winner Was the Biggest Loser

Wicked is generally in the top two highest grossing shows of any given week, neck in neck with Disney’s The Lion King. This week was no different. It was the second highest earning show of the week ending July 13, 2014, grossing a total of $1,936,778, which was 115.21% of its gross potential. The gravity defying musical was only beaten by one, as expected: The Lion King, which grossed $2,151,409, coming out to 95.72% of its gross potential. However, interestingly, Wicked was not only one of the biggest winners this past week in terms of overall weekly gross, but it was also the biggest loser: in terms of gross differential from the week before. In a week when a majority of the shows increased in comparison to last week (which is more a matter of poor sales last week), Wicked went down by the highest amount, losing $51,314 in comparison to the week prior. The Lion King, on the other hand, increased by $85,240 from the week before. This goes to show that even the highest earning musicals can vastly fluctuate from week to week. Although $1,936,778 is no chump change, it is still significantly less than Wicked earned in the previous week.

Plays Picking Up As They Near Closing

The Cripple of Inishmaan starring Daniel Radcliffe has not done exceedingly well at the box office over the course of its run. In fact, it has announced that it will close in one week on July 20, 2014. In anticipation of its closing, audiences are taking notice. This past week, the show grossed $596,630, which was an increase of $129,241 from the previous week. In fact, it was the show’s second highest grossing week to date. Time will tell whether sales continue to increase in its final week of performances. Similarly, Of Mice and Men had sales significantly pick up in anticipation of its closing on July 27, 2014. Last week, it grossed $862,862, which was an increase of $107,506 from the previous week. Unlike with The Cripple of Inishmaan, however, this weekly gross is not an extraordinary increase, so it may just be part of its normal cycle of fluctuations. In the final two weeks, we will be able to analyze whether this is in fact due to anticipation of closing.
The following are the Broadway ticket sales numbers for the week ending July 13, 2014: